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On 19 June, Paris' Sciences Po École de journalisme played host to a selection of the world's leading journalism educators (Chile, China, Denmark, Jordan, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UK and the USA) who were invited to discuss the "Challenges and Evolution of Journalism Education."

Opening the conference, Bruno Patino, dean of the Sciences PO School of Journalism, said: "The only thing certain is uncertainty," in reference to the news industry, which has seen advertising revenue across developed countries plummet in the wake of the economic crisis and the growing influence of the Internet.

Reinventing the journalism curriculum

In his keynote speech, Nicholas Lemann (right), dean at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, however, recognised the potential of the Web: "The Internet is the greatest thing that ever happened to journalism schools." Lemann was also keen to make the distinction between the journalism industry and journalism schools, many of which have witnessed a rise in applications, despite the problems plaguing the industry, he said: "Journalism schools are dependent on economic stability, which is not the same as profitability."

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As the world's political and media spotlights focussed on the Iranian elections, the Internet was always expected to play an important role in keeping people up to date with developments, but little did we know the Web would also prove to be the scene of political unrest.

As news emerged that incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had secured 62.6 percent of the 46.2 million votes cast compared to rival Mir Hossein Mousavi's 33.75 percent, tweets started circulating from a section of the country's disappointed and disenfranchised voters.

Even before Friday's elections took place, Twitter had proved a popular outlet for a handful of Iranian nationals to communicate with the outside world, with many expressing their fears, hopes and excitement about the elections. With voting over and the results in, Twitter was used by some of Ahmadinejad's followers to convey their triumph, while Mousavi's supporters posted messages of outrage and disillusionment.

With newspaper coverage restricted, phone lines down, websites blocked and the voices of protesters muffled by tear-gas hurling and truncheon-wielding anti-riot police, the social networking site was one of the limited ways to connect with people.

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Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger and Labour MP Tom Watson go head-to-head on Twitter, as Watson and the Daily Mail accuse the centre-left paper of going too far. Last week, the newspaper went ahead with a front-page editorial urging the British PM Gordon Brown to resign.

Daily Mail obsessed with idea of Guardian 'putsch' (in collusion with BBC?). A question of media ethics, apparently. http://tiny.cc/7Wp3M"And so went the tweet that started it all, with Rusbridger linking to the Daily Mail article, in which Stephen Glover asks "Was it [the Guardian] trying to orchestrate events so as to secure the resignation which it had called for in its editorial?"

Labour MP for West Bromwich, Tom Watson, happened to be on Twitter when Rusbridger posted the link; Watson soon responded with a tweet of his own:

tom_watson: @arusbridger The Daily Mail are not the only people concerned. Many colleagues think you should report the news not make it.

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From today, a new partnership between Associated Newspapers' free titles and PageSuite will see the group's online newspapers including Metro, Metro Ireland, London Lite and 7Days published by the digital publishing solutions company.

Last month, PageSuite unveiled a new search facility, enabling readers to search for key words and phrases within the digital paper - a feature previously limited to just a few titles. Content can also be tagged and shared via social networking sites, for maximum reach.

Associated Newspapers currently holds an 11-year contract with Metro, although this is due to expire in March next year. Transport for London issued a tender asking for initial "expressions of interest"; the deadline was Wednesday 3 June.

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Speaking at the Google I/O Developer Conference that took place in San Francisco between May 27-28, Google has unveiled Google Wave, a new online communication service.

Described as a "personal communication and collaboration tool," Google Wave allows users to chat and share documents including audio files, videos and photos in real-time.Google Wave: What is it and how does it work?

Created as an open-source platform, Vic Gundotra, VP of engineering for Google explained the reasons for this: "It's open sourced for many reasons. Not only do we want to contribute to the Internet but frankly we need developers to help us complete this product and we need your support."

What makes Google Wave particularly revolutionary is the real-time aspect. Whereas most social media tools involve an element of waiting around as one person waits for another to respond, with a message such as "Person X is typing" usually appearing in the corner, Wave allows users to see what's being typed as instantly as it appears on the typer's screen. In the case of sensitive information sharing, an opt-out button allows users to conceal what they are writing until they hit the "send" button.

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The New York Times is taking its use of social networks to whole new levels, and has announced the appointment of a social media editor for the publication. Jennifer Preston will concentrate "full-time on expanding the use of social media networks and publishing platforms to improve New York Times journalism and deliver it to readers."

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Yesterday, the recently founded Media140 held its first Twitter and microblogging conference. Held at London's Southbank Centre - a venue in the heart of the UK capital synonymous with innovation - the event largely focussed on the effects that Twitter and micoblogging are having on the news gathering process and was attended by journalists from Guardian.co.uk, TimesOnline, TechCrunch, BBC, Aljazeera, Reuters and Sky News.

Kicking off discussions, associate editor of the Sunday Herald and author of 'The Play ethic', Pat Kane, opened up the conference with a keynote presentation on the way breaking news services were dramatically changing the face of journalism: "Reading a newspaper on a street corner might be seen as banal. What's becoming just as banal is producing news on that street corner," said Kane. You can access his slideshow from the presentation here.

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According to the pressgazette.co.uk, Thomson Reuters has launched a new resource for small businesses, which it has added to its website.

By visiting the site at reuters.com/smallbusiness, users will be able to access breaking business news stories, commentary as well as audio and video content from a variety of Reuters' business journalists and content partners, including content from specialist US business publications such as BNET, which provides intelligence for managerial professionals, Entrepeneur, Greener World Media which offers environmental responsibility advice, IDG's CIO business technology publication, PC World, Network World, Computerworld and Wired magazine.

Additionally, users will have exclusive access to HR and legal advice in the form of the FindLaw Small Business Resource Center. Supporting the Reuters initiative, the centre offers entrepreneurs guidance on matters such as starting a new business to securing a government contract.

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Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal issued a new set of guidelines for professional conduct to its staff which, among other things, detailed the do's and don'ts of social networking. At the time, reaction to the rules was unknown, but writing on her Save the media blog, newspaper journalist, Gina Chen, clearly disagrees with the WSJ bosses.

"This is an open letter to the Dow Jones and Co.," begins the post. The author says that executives at the WSJ "fail" to grasp the point of social media and proceeds to address each specific rule, line by line.

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Further to an Editors Weblog article yesterday on the potential of social networking sites as news tools, editorial staff at the Wall Street Journal have been handed a set of guidelines for "professional conduct," detailing the dos and don'ts of using a social networking site, the Editor & Publisher has reported.

E&P has a copy of the memo sent out to employees here. Among the rules include a warning about adding or accepting a friend that might be a confidential news source and therefore jeopardising said source by leaving them exposed to poachers and possible invasions of privacy - staff are advised to check with their editors.

Also, journalists are discouraged from enlisting friends or family members to "promote or defend" their work and are likewise told to avoid criticising the work of colleagues. With regards to collecting data and general information from users on sites, reporters are told to be upfront about who they are, who they represent and questions should remain neutral in tone.

Editors Weblog

The World Editors Forum is the organization within the World Association of Newspapers devoted to newspaper editors worldwide. The Editors Weblog (www.editorsweblog.org), launched in January 2004, is a WEF initiative designed to facilitate the diffusion of information relevant to newspapers and their editors.